Tag Archives: city

‘POLICE LOG’: West Sac’s crime roundup

FROM THE NEWS-LEDGER — NOV 21, 2012 —

By News-Ledger Editor Steve Marschke

News items below are collected from police dispatchers’ notes and arrest reports. The information in them has often not been verified beyond the initial reports. To see West Sac’s ‘Police Log’ every week, take a look at the special offer at the bottom of this page.

Nov. 12, 4:02 a.m.
A caller from Fernwood Street told dispatchers a man was trying to steal a locked bike, but took off running when the caller interrupted by pounding on a wall. The would-be thief left behind a small bag containing bolt cutters.

Nov. 12, 4:41 a.m.
A Riverpoint Court retail store said three men stole three bags of clothing and fled in a Dodge Magnum.

Nov. 12, 12:47 p.m.
A caller from a supermarket on the 1600-block of West Capitol said a man outside “had loud music on and blew a foghorn in the (caller’s) face” before driving off. Other people provided a tentative ID for the suspect.

Nov. 12, 1:13 p.m.
A witness said there was a man walking along the street near Haverhill Street and Norfolk Avenue, trying out a remote garage door opener in front of each home he passed.

Nov. 12, 5:01 p.m.
A resident of Hobson reported there was a “kid” starting a fire in a field near the home. The kid was seen “adding branches and fuel to the fire.”

Nov. 12, 5:26 p.m.
A caller said there was a woman holding “what appeared to be a grenade” at a business complex on the 1700-block of West Capitol.

[adrotate group=”10″] Nov. 13, 1:13 a.m.
A caller from a motel on the 900-block of West Capitol said a woman had just removed a window screen and climbed into one of the motel rooms.

Nov. 13, 1:57 a.m.
A fire was reported in a dumpster near a motel on Harbor Blvd.

Nov. 13, 5:45 a.m.
A man called from the 1700-block of West Capitol, saying he was “robbed at gunpoint a couple minutes ago” in front of a nearby motel. The man was screaming, and said he had Tourette’s Syndrome.

Nov. 13, 7:50 a.m.
A suicide threat came in from Southport.

Nov. 13, 7:57 a.m.
A citizen said a car just went through a fence on the 4500-block of Jefferson in Southport. The drive was still on scene and apparently wasn’t hurt.

Nov. 13, 8:34 a.m.
A witness said that an older man was now in the parking lot of Southport’s Town Center Plaza in a Toyota 4-Runner. The man just came out of the supermarket, where he was “walking around intoxicated, stumbling, and (he) smells.”

Nov. 13, 8:37 a.m.
A resident of Tortola Road said somebody stole packages from the front porch. The packages contained vitamins and gloves, worth about $200.

Nov. 13, 9:32 a.m.
A man reported a neighbor “drew a small revolver on him” during an argument on F Street.

Nov. 13, 4:13 p.m.
A fast-food restaurant on Westacre Road reported that an “extremely” drunk woman in a gold Chevy Tahoe just went through the drive-through window. The woman then drove away eastbound on West Capitol – with three or four kids in her car.

Nov. 13, 5:19 p.m.
A three-vehicle accident was reported near Jefferson & Webster. A Toyota Corolla, utility truck and Chevy Suburban were involved, but there were apparently no injuries.

Nov. 13, 5:27 p.m.
A 1998 Dodge pickup was discovered to have been stolen from a business complex on the 3200-block of West Capitol, sometime Sunday or Monday.

Nov. 13, 5:28 p.m.
A woman told a dispatcher that around Oct. 23, the clerk at a gas station on West Capitol “retained” her credit card. The card has since been used for several purchases in West Sacramento and Sacramento.

Nov. 13, 5:45 p.m.
A man said he had called police several times regarding a neighbor near Cold Springs Road and Roaring Creek Street who stores several vehicles on the street. The caller “has called many times and is not happy with the PD response.”

Nov. 13, 6:51 p.m.
The library on Merkley Avenue reported that a very intoxicated man about 65 years old just left, “saying something about going to the bus stop.” The man was “barely able to stand up.”

Nov. 13, 7:58 p.m.
A law enforcement agency asked local police units to stay clear of Harbor and West Capitol, possibly due to an undercover operation.

Nov. 13, 11:45 p.m.
A supermarket reported it had told a 56-year old West Capitol Avenue woman “approximately ten times that she is not allowed in” the store, but they just detained her for shoplifting.

Nov. 14, 1:40 a.m.
Two women were detained for shoplifting at a Riverpoint Court store.

Nov. 14, 1:23 a.m.
A citizen said there was a subject wearing black clothes and a dark beanie, with a shopping cart on Gooseberry Circle. The subject pushed the cart to a white van and drove away. The individual was suspicious due to recent burglaries in the area.

Nov. 14, 7:17 a.m.
A Honda Accord was repossessed from a Southport home.

Nov. 14, 7:57 a.m.
A domestic violence report came in from a north-area home.

Nov. 14, 8:42 a.m.
A motel manager on the 1800-block of West Capitol said someone burglarized a tenant. “An unknown suspect took his luggage from the room while he was sleeping.”

Nov. 14, 11:12 a.m.
The registration stickers were stolen from a car parked on Elder Drive.

Nov. 14, 12:17 a.m.
A hit-and-run was reported near 2900 West Capitol. The caller said a white truck just scratched his/her mother’s car and another vehicle. The suspect vehicle and second victim had left the scene.

Nov. 14, 12:30 a.m.
A man was reported “wandering around” a school and church on Todhunter Avenue, and was “last seen around the convent area.”

Nov. 14, 1:33 p.m.
A woman said she had previously reported her bike stolen. Now, the bike and a rider were in front of a store on the 3000-block of West Capitol.

Nov. 14, 3:05 p.m.
A woman reported an incident that occurred a couple hours earlier in a store parking lot:
She had been backing out of a parking place when she heard a man yelling. She stopped her car, and the man claimed that she had “hit his wheelchair-bound wife.” The wife wasn’t hurt and wheelchair didn’t appear to be damaged. The “victim” didn’t want police summoned, she just demanded $50.

Nov. 14, 5:14 p.m.
A man reported that sometime in the last ten minutes, somebody stole an outboard motor out of the back of his pickup truck while it was parked on Harbor Blvd.

Nov. 14, 5:20 p.m.
A Riverpoint Court store said there was a drunk man “sitting by the front door in the food center in row five.” The man was “very belligerent and violent.”

Nov. 14, 11:54 p.m.
A man said his Solano Street neighbors were involved in drug activity. The man said he had installed an alarm with a sensor beam that went across the neighbor’s driveway, an d”it has gone off four times already due to all the in-and-out foot traffic.”

Nov. 14, 3:38 p.m.
A mobile home resident on Sacramento Avenue reported he was cutting some bushes next to his home when he found a Taser and holster. He turned them in to police.

Nov. 14, 10:02 p.m.
A police officer stopped a vehicle at 5th and E streets. The 19-year old Lighthouse Drive woman driving the car had no license, and had outstanding warrants for charges including theft.

Nov. 14, 10:28 a.m.
An officer contacted a 39-year old homeless woman who had a store’s shopping cart at a bus stop at West Capitol and Pecan. In the cart were empty cans and trash, as well as a half-full 32-ounce bottle of beer and the woman’s wallet and ID. There were several warrants for her arrest, and she was jailed.

Nov. 14, 7:36 p.m.
A 41-year old homeless woman was arrested after she was found sleeping in a vacant trailer that didn’t belong to her on the 3200-block of West Capitol. There were also arrest warrants for charges including burglary and a drug offense.

Nov. 18, 12:03 a.m.
An officer saw a 22-year old Touchstone Place woman sitting in the driver’s seat of a stranded car on the road near Harbor and Evergreen. She showed symptoms of intoxication, and was arrested for DUI.

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Copyright News-Ledger 2012

Wine & treats to benefit local charities

[adrotate group=”7″] FROM NEWS-LEDGER STAFF —

A number of local charities will benefit from your attendance at the “Hope Stocking Event,” planned by the West Sacramento Foundation for 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29, at the Club Pheasant.

Celeste Hall gets her wings

NEWS-LEDGER — NOV 21, 2012 —

By News-Ledger Staff —

Celeste Hall, a 2009 graduate of River City High School now serving in the Navy, received her wings as an Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (left).

She is presently on the USS John C Stennis, a seventh Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier. She’s the daughter of Heidi Haskins, granddaughter of Nanette Miller and great granddaughter of Albino and Nylene Freitas, all of West Sacramento. (courtesy photo)

[adrotate group=”9″] Copyright News-Ledger 2012

West Sac native is the new warden

Ron Rackley: member of RCHS Class of 1984 is now the warden at a California correctional facility (courtesy photo)

FROM THE NEWS-LEDGER — NOV 21, 2012 —

By News-Ledger Staff —

Governor Jerry Brown’s office announced last month that Ronald Rackley, 46, of Elk Grove, has been appointed warden of the Deuel Vocational Institution at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he has served as chief deputy administrator since 2009. Rackley has served in multiple positions at the Deuel Vocational Institution since 1987.

This position does not require Senate confirmation.

[adrotate group=”7″] Rackley began his career with CDCR in 1987 as a Correctional Officer at Deuel. He is the only person in the 59 year history of DVI to promote from correctional officer to warden without transferring to another prison. DVI, located in Tracy, CA, opened in 1953 as a medium security prison, with a large vocational training program. DVI’s current mission is as a reception center for 22 Northern California counties; and a medium security prison for male felons.

Rackley was born is Sacramento, and raised in West Sacramento by his parents Robert and the late Patricia Rackley. He attended River City Senior High School, graduating in 1984.

Copyright News-Ledger 2012

State audit says West Sacramento’s handling of redevelopment property was clean & legal

FROM THE NEWS-LEDGER — NOV 14, 2012 —

By Steve MarschkeNews-Ledger Editor

West Sacramento has become the first California city to be certified by the state controller with a clean bill of health for the manner in which the city “wound down” its redevelopment agency assets.

MAYOR CHRISTOPHER CABALDON (News-Ledger photo)

When the state abolished redevelopment agencies in a revenue-raising maneuver, cities like this one were left with property assets – some of them major – that were owned by the redevelopment agency, but suddenly in danger of being divvied up and parceled out. West Sacramento handled its redevelopment assets in various ways, putting acreage near Stone Lock under purchase option to the locally-controlled Port of Sacramento, and moving small potential “right of way” properties along roadways to the city itself.

The office of State Controller John Chiang has just announced that transfers like these were in compliance with the law. The properties transferred to the city served an obvious governmental purpose, he said.

At the same time, his office found the City of Hercules inappropriately handled $51.1 million of its assets, which must now be turned over to the local “successor agency” to the redevelopment agency in Hercules.

“We’re the first city in the state to have a completely clear audit,” Mayor Christopher Cabaldon told the News-Ledger. “The controller’s office was auditing whether the transactions that occurred as the redevelopment agency was winding down were appropriate. Some cities had problems.”

How much property did West Sacramento move out of the agency?

[adrotate group=”7″] “In the range of $70 million, with some as large as parts of the Stone Lock District and some more like 50 square feet,” he said. “Most are not really high-value properties, like those rights-of-way. Our concern was that if we gave them up and they went to auction, somebody could pick them up for next to nothing because they had no development value. Then they could essentially hold us hostage and try to extort the taxpayers for huge sums of money because we need them (for road expansions and such).”

The audit process isn’t over, said the mayor. The state still needs to sign off that West Sacramento transferred some of its pre-existing tax obligations in a legal manner. The redevelopment agency had committed some of the local property tax increment to projects like the Bridge District and Stone Lock District, and the state needs to give approval for those commitments to continue.

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Copyright News-Ledger 2012

Life in America before ‘Black Friday’

NEWS-LEDGER — NOV 21, 2012 —

DARYL FISHER, author of the weekly 'My Back Pages' column in the News-Ledger

NEWS-LEDGER COLUMN BY DARYL FISHER

This year I decided I wasn’t going to wait until the very last minute to do all my Christmas shopping so off I went this past Saturday to a shopping mall in downtown Sacramento. I quickly found what I was looking for and was standing in a not-too-lengthy line when I suddenly found myself listening (eavesdropping is such a nasty word) to the two women in front of me as they chatted away about their plans for the day after Thanksgiving.

“I can hardly wait for Black Friday,” said the taller of the two with a big grin. “Are you going to be doing what I’m going to be doing?”

“Are you kidding?” answered the shorter of the two. “I plan on being out my front door before the sun comes up!”
Not having a clue what the two women were talking about, I asked myself what Black Friday might be. I had definitely heard the phrase somewhere before, but I couldn’t seem to recall in what context. Maybe it was the day people were jumping out of windows in New York City back in 1929 when the stock market crashed and destroyed so many fortunes, I thought to myself. Or maybe it was a particular Friday back in the Middle Ages when more people died from the Black Plague than on any other day? Anyway, I ended up thinking about it all the way home and the first person I saw when I walked in the front door was my daughter, so I asked her if she had ever heard of that phrase before.

“Well,” explained my daughter after looking at me like I had been hanging out on the moon, “it’s the day after Thanksgiving when all the stores have huge sales to attract holiday shoppers, and other than the day before Christmas when everyone does their last-minute shopping, it’s the biggest shopping day of the whole year.”

[adrotate group=”7″] More specifically, I learned that Black Friday is actually the day that most retail businesses hope to finally go into the black (or profitability) for that business year and there really are sales galore scheduled for that specific day to attract potential shoppers across the nation. And apparently the reason stores open their doors so early in the morning is that studies have found that most shoppers spend most of their money at the very first store they visit.

“But I don’t remember you or your mother going shopping for big sales on the day after Thanksgiving,” I told my daughter.

“That’s because neither one of us want to take our lives into our own hands! People go absolutely crazy on Black Friday the minute the store doors open, pushing other people to the side and ripping away merchandize already in the hands of other people. I mean, people will risk life and limb just to get themselves a Black Friday bargain and who wants to have `Trampled to death in Wal-Mart’ on their tombstone?”

I was mentioning all this to my mother the other night when she explained to me that there was actually a time in this country (and not all that long ago, too) when shopping in general, and shopping for bargains in particular, wasn’t the only reason to exist.

“When I was young,” said my mother, “most everyone lived out in the country and shopping was something we hardly ever did. If we did go into town, it was just on Saturday, and outside of picking up some sugar and flour, we didn’t spend too much time in stores. My mother made almost everything we needed at home. She would take hand-me-down cloth from some of the neighbors and sew clothes for us kids, and when it came to food, we had most everything we needed right on the place. There were chickens and rabbits for meat, and Mom canned just about everything she could get her hands on, including vegetables from the garden and fruits from the trees in our backyard. So shopping in stores was just something that wasn’t a big part of most people’s lives back then.”

“What if you needed a tool or a radio or something like that?” I asked.

“Well,” explained my mother, “every house where I lived received both the Sears and Roebuck catalog and the Montgomery Wards catalog, and anything we needed that we couldn’t make ourselves or find in the few stores that were in town we would just order out of one of those big catalogs.”

When my mother suddenly started to smile I said, “What’s so funny?”

“Well,” she said, “I was just thinking that back then those pages in those catalogs weren’t really used all that much to buy things with because no one had much spending money. What we really used them for was toilet paper.”

“You know,” I said, returning her smile, “now that’s actually a pretty good commentary on what has happened to this country over the years in terms of everything being so commercialized and people feeling like they have to go out and buy everything in sight to feel alive.”

“Well,” said my mother, “I don’t know about all that, but I do know that all these colorful and fancy catalogs they keep sending me in the mail would have been pretty worthless back when I was young.”

“And why is that?” I asked with interest.

“Because the pages in them are way too slick nowadays.”

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[adrotate group=”10″] Open to West Sacramento residents only; bring proof of residency (rent receipt, utility bill), California driver’s license or ID, proof of income (paycheck stub, MediCal card, etc.), and Social Security card, and proof of any children in the home.